Independence Day
by Tanoshimi
Summary: Arthur has forgotten something very important. He asks America, who immediately takes him to a variety of places. But what is his purpose?


I've become obsessed with Hetalia lately and just had to do something like this. Alfred and Arthur are two of my favorite characters, after all! Please enjoy.

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"Hey, England!" America's exuberant greeting smashed into Arthur's eardrums, effectively making him wince. _Does he always have to be so loud?_

"Must you be a source of perpetual annoyance?" he asked irritably. Alfred only winked and said cheekily,

"Only to you." Arthur huffed and turned back to his newspaper. He had been reading when the notion that he was forgetting something popped up. The country had been striving to remember exactly what had escaped his mind up until his partner's untimely arrival. England had been thinking for approximately fifteen minutes. Feeling scatterbrained was not a pleasant experience. He blamed it on his lack of sleep for the past few days (his boss was working him too hard). Now, he was desperate. Hesitantly, gruffly, he inquired to America,

"Would you happen to know if anything is going on today? I can't seem to remember—"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing! Come on, we're going to be late for the meeting." America was looking a little panicked, a rare occurrence. It was a sure sign that he was hiding something. However, he was right about the conference.

"Sod it!" England muttered, glancing at his watch. "We'd better hurry." At Alfred's urging (and because Arthur was afraid that they would waste time arguing), they virtually ran the three miles to the conference hall. When they arrived, Arthur collapsed. America laughed.

"What's the matter, old man? Is running too much for your rotting bones?" He retaliated by gasping out,

"Belt up, you dolt. Let's go in, now!" Alfred shrugged and helped him get to his feet. England dusted his suit off, trying to compose himself before appearing in front of the other countries. They went in with haste. The eyes of all of the other nations were on them, but America just strode to the front of the meeting room and asked cheerily,

"So, shall we begin?"

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The conference culminated as it always did, with one preposterous idea after another of America's being shot down. It had gone rather well, actually, Arthur thought, except that the nagging sense of having forgotten something continued to bother him. He closed his eyes in annoyance while leaning back into his seat. Almost everybody had departed, leaving only him and America in the spacious meeting room. His companion was getting ready to go. England was relieved that he would be able to have some time to himself when—

"Are you ready to leave?" Well, that was unexpected. Alfred never approached him after meetings if he could help it. Arthur lifted an eyebrow.

"Pardon me?"

"I said, "Are you ready to leave?" You really are getting deaf, England."

"No, I heard you. I just…never mind. Yes, I'm ready to go." He decided that it would be too strenuous to convey his thoughts. Anyhow, Arthur was curious as to America's sudden friendliness. They had walked for the better part of a mile (and side-by-side too) when Alfred exclaimed quite suddenly,

"It's a perfect day for a picnic, don't you think?" England stared at him, as if he had gone mad.

"A picnic? This early in the morning?"

"Yeah! The park always gets really crowded in the afternoon. It's only logical to go now." Alfred _had _gone balmy. Anyway, there were menacing rain clouds overhead. Arthur proceeded to tell him as much. However, America just waved it off.

"We'll just run back to my house. That shouldn't be a problem, right?" The hope in his blue eyes and the pleading in his voice rendered England helpless. The country sighed.

"All right. But where will we get the food?" Suddenly, he saw something slinking away from a nearby bench. Arthur confronted America accusingly.

"Did I just see someone sneaking away? And what is that basket doing on that bench?" To his utter annoyance, Alfred looked just as surprised as he did.

"Oh my, how convenient! Somebody must have forgotten their picnic basket. Well, finders keepers!" He snatched it.

"Don't try to feign ignorance with me! I tell you, I saw a person diving into those bushes. And you most certainly made that basket!" England fumed.

"It must have been one of your nonexistent fairy friends."

"They exist! You watch yourself, America; I will get to the bottom of this!" Arthur was cut off when Alfred dragged him into the park. Despite his resolution to keep aloof, he found himself loosening up. It didn't help that America was plying him with food and drink.

"Would you care for another hamburger, England?" Arthur reached out a hand involuntarily, realized what he had done, and found that it was too late to give it back. He bit it hesitantly. Sweetly, he commented,

"Why, America, this is surprisingly delicious! Tell me, what is your secret?" Unfortunately, Alfred did not fall for it.

"What are you talking about? I didn't make this. The person who abandoned this basket probably did!" America could be infuriatingly sly at times. England was forced to hide his disappointment by eating (well, "destroying" was a more accurate term) the hamburger. When their supply of food was exhausted, Arthur asked snappishly,

"May I leave now?"

"What's the hurry? We still have so many things to do!" Underneath America's happy expression was the clear message that if Arthur tried to escape, he would hunt him down and haul him back. Judging by the country's superhuman strength, it was more than likely that he would not hesitate to do so. And so, England had no choice but to follow his companion again.

After numerous trips to the amusement park, a soccer match, and even a circus, the two were hindered by a sudden onslaught of rain. They raced back to America's house and arrived soaking wet. In spite of himself, England had to admit that he had had fun (not that America would ever find out). He tried to keep up a crabby pretense.

"I can't believe that we had to run back here. That was five kilometers, America, five! And in the pouring rain too. It's six o'clock now. How could have I let you parade me around for that long?"

"Don't tell me you didn't love the clowns, old man! I saw you laughing." At that, England flushed.

"I wasn't laughing! The lighting probably just hit me at the wrong angle." Alfred gave him a disbelieving glance, as he went into his bedroom.

"Do you need a change of clothing too?" England nodded. America emerged a few minutes later, bearing a T-shirt and jeans. "They might be a little loose, but these should do." _They wouldn't be loose if you didn't keep eating junk food all of the time_, Arthur thought. Nevertheless he said "thank you" and went into the bathroom. Moments later, he emerged sporting dry garments. The two took their places on the armchairs in America's living room. In the silence that ensued, England suddenly remembered that he had forgotten something. The bothersome sensation had returned. In an effort to rid himself of the notion, he inquired to Alfred,

"Why did you take me to all of those places today?" America did not reply; he merely stood up.

"Do you want some tea, England?" As much as Arthur detested having his questions ignored, he still muttered" yes" and waited. If Alfred did not want to tell him, that was fine! He would find out for himself eventually. As he seethed, he forgot the problem that he had had in the morning.

The rain took two hours to settle down. By then, England had drunk his cup of tea, read a book, discussed the recession with America, and cooked a meal. He was surprised that his companion had not complained about the taste of the food, as he usually did. Whether this was good or bad, he could not tell. When the downpour had ceased and the gray clouds had drifted away, Alfred suddenly piped up,

"Let's go for a walk!" Since he was in a good mood, Arthur complied. They ambled down the sidewalk in front of America's house. Their few moments of comfortable quietness were brought to a halt when England asked suspiciously,

"Where are we going?"

"Oh, nowhere in particular," Alfred said airily. However, it looked to Arthur like he had a specific destination in mind. The next hour and a half that they spent walking almost banished that theory. He began to think that there really was no point to their walk, except maybe to get lost. Trickles of harsh words had just begun to leak from his mouth when America stopped.

"Look here, England, we're at the park again!"

"Where have you brought me, you bloody git—"Arthur paused in the middle of his tirade as he saw a burst of color erupt in the sky. "Fireworks?" He looked to Alfred for an explanation. The blonde turned to him, smiling gently.

"You know how you were spouting off today about forgetting something?"

"Yeah…"

"Today is Independence Day, Arthur. That was what you forgot." England was at a loss for words. How could he have forgotten that one day that brought the most misery to his life? America went on.

"I did it! I've successfully kept you from being depressed on the Fourth of July!" Arthur finally mustered up some words.

"Then, that means… you dragged me around all day to preoccupy me?"

"Yep!" Alfred's face was illuminated by a shock of red, white, and blue. He was grinning madly. England allowed a smile to play on his lips.

"So I _did_ see someone slink away from that bench, and you did make that picnic basket!"

"I planned it all out with one of my people. The food was delicious, wasn't it?" To that, the country did not reply. He merely watched the fireworks with a look of wonder on his face. America followed his example, and the two men stood, watching the sky. All of a sudden, Alfred started.

"Did you say something, Arthur?" It might have been a trick of the light, but he could swear that he saw England's face suffused with red.

"I said… thank you… Alfred," he mumbled. America hesitated and then nodded. Had he looked into Arthur's green eyes, he would have noticed a film of grateful tears. They watched the fireworks for the rest of the night in peace.

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Well, I hope you liked it! Please review.

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